It had to be saffron this time. The one I brought from my recent trip to Kashmir. The delicate aroma of this king of all spices is to be fallen in love with. And I have. This is special because this has got memories from the childhood too. Mother used to add few saffron threads to the quintessential chilled rice pudding in summer or comforting slow boiled milk with dry fruits in winter.

To her, adding saffron to the food ensured good health to her family. All mothers are like that. They would express their love and care through that extra bit of finer and healthier ingredients. Be it a generous dollop of butter or the whole grain food. I know, butter doesn’t sound healthy here, but to moms, it does.

So I thought of baking something with the spice, which could travel with me back home and more importantly, which could at least reciprocate the love and affection through the food. And I came across this wonderful recipe of Saffron and Pistachio biscotti from Jamie Oliver’s magazine, few days back which I had bookmarked before I went for the holiday.

The saffron flavor shone through and did magic to the nuttiness of roasted pistachios. Mother loved it and said she was proud of me and it made my day. Though I knew, it was nowhere close to the food which she’s been cooking for us all these years.